CORE 1403
U2L3 Activity 1: Learn about how to write a good summary
Summarizing is essential for almost every type of writing (journal articles, newspapers,
magazines, essays, proposals, reports, emails, blogs, etc.). Good summary skills enable you
to capture the key information and communicate this key information in a clear, concise and
useful way for the audience. Your W1 assessment involves writing a summary of an article
(100-150 words) and a critique of the same article (200-250 words). Below is advice for the
summary part.
Activity 1: Read the tips below for how to write a good summary and use these tips to
determine why the summary below is a poor summary. (You do not need to submit anything
for this task.)
Example of a poor written summary
I read an article about growing dendrites and natural learning. The title was “Why you are
already a natural learner: Growing Dendrites”. The author’s names are Zadina, Smilkstein,
Daiek, and Anter. The article has background information about the topic and some
details which are quite interesting. A tree is a good analogy to show how the brain makes
connections with neurons. Brain connections or synapses create neural networks during
learning. In conclusion, this article is about dendrites and natural learning.
Tips for choosing content for a summary
1. Focus only on the main points in the article.
2. Assume the reader of your summary has not read the article.
3. Avoid repeating any points you make, discussing supporting details in the article, or
including your own opinion.
Tips for writing the summary
1. Your first sentence should:
a. identify the author’s main point for the entire article (called a thesis); and
b. make a clear reference to the source.
You should do this by identifying the name of the author, the title of the article, and year of
publishing, and by using an appropriate reporting verb* in present tense to report this
thesis. See examples below.
Examples of the above points:
In her 2008 article, “The Casualties of Consumerism,” Sabrina G. Lee reports that…
Nicole Krueger’s 2021 blog post, “Preparing Students for Jobs that Don’t Exist” considers…
“The myth of the ‘digital native’”, a 2017 blog post by Jessica Frawley argues that …
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CORE 1403
2. Your subsequent sentences should:
a. focus on the ideas used to support the author's main points in the order that
they appear in the article; and
b. be about 3 points if your whole summary is intended to be about 100-150
words.
3. Your summary should use:
a. words to show the structure of the text e.g., transitions and linking words to
connect points where needed.
b. attributive tags. These are words or phrases that refer to the author. This is
important because it shows that these are the author’s ideas – not your own.
c. reporting verbs* in present tense to introduce the author’s point.
Examples of the above points:
First, the authors categorize…
They go on to discuss …
Next, Prensky explains how….
Additionally, Gilchrist and Tsang claim that…
*Reporting verbs: acknowledge, address, add, allege, argue, assert, assume, believe,
categorize, claim, comment, compare, concede, conclude, concur, consider, contend,
criticize, define, deny, describe, disagree, discuss, emphasize, explain, find, hypothesize,
illustrate, imply, indicate, introduce, list, maintain, note, object, observe, point out,
propose, question, reason, report, respond, show, speculate, state, suggest, support,
think, write
NOTE: avoid using “mention” as a reporting verb because it gives the impression that this
is a minor point.
Here is an optional supplementary resource for developing skills with reporting ideas from
sources: https://www.eapfoundation.com/writing/references/reporting/
4. End with a helpful conclusion sentence which is purposeful for the reader (not just
repeating a point you have already made).
